Car-coupling



(No Mode1.)

R. E.. GRAY.

i GAR G'OUPLING; i v-N0, 289,407. Patented Deo. 4, 1883.l

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UNITED STATES PATENT Fries@ RICHARD E. GRAY, OF VILLIAMSPORT,PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 289,40*?, dated December4, 1883.

Application filed December 8, 1882. (No model.)

To all wiz/m it may concern:

To thefront ends of the draw-bars A are Beit known that I, RICHARDE.GRAY, of pivoted the hooks E E, which constitute the Villiamsport, inthe county'of Lycoming and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certainnew and useful improvements in Car-Coup-V recited at the close of thespecification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of myimproved coupling;

`and Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of one ofthe l able my presentimprovements to be understood.

The draw-bars A of the twin-coupling are secured beneath the cars,preferably by means of metal straps B, which permit slight endwisemovement of the draw-bars without lateral play. The rear ends of thedraw-bars are firmly connected to the usual draft-bars or rear sections,C, of the drawlbars, which are also secured beneath the cars, asusual-for in stance, by suitable metallic straps and boltsso as to haveslight endwise play with their bars A. Strong buffer-springs D arefitted to or in said draft-bars C, as usual, so as to ease the jar whenthe cars come together to be coupled. 'Ihe drawbars A and rear sections,C, thereof are secured centrally 'beneath the cars, so as to place thedraft at the `center thereof.

-ready mentioned.

coupling devices proper. The reduced shanks e of said pivoted hooks arefitted in recesses in the draw-bars A, and are adapted to be rigidlylocked therein in their coupling position by means of simplecoupling-pins F, as fully de scribed in lmy aforesaid patent.

The safety-latch G, also described in myw aforesaid patent, is employedto uphold the coupling-pin until the proper time arrives for locking thecoupling-hook. The front ends ofthe coupling-hooks inthis example, itwill be seen, are different in construction from those shown in myaforesaid patent, being curved or rounded so as to iit intocorresponding recesses H in the opposite draw-bars when the cars are.brought together, whereby the pivoted hooks, in addition to theircoupling capacity, also constitute the buffers of the cars. The frontends of said coupling-hooks are also deeper than the draw-bars, to whichthey are pivoted by their reduced shanks, and extend both above andbelow the front ends of the said draw-bars. This is for the purpose of ygiving a wider range up and down to the coupling devices and to enablecars to be coupled at greater inequalities of height, and for thefurther purpose' of enabling me to form quite extensive recesses e inthefaces of 'the coupling-hooks for the ordinary coupling -links withoutunduly weakening the coupling-hooks or interfering with their bufting orcoupling actions. Y

J ust back of the curved seats or recesses H of the draw-heads, and ontop ofv said drawheads, are cast or fastened transverse ribs or flangesc, which, when the cars are brought together, with the couplinghooks inbuffing contact, abut against theend sills, I, of thecars and preventthe draw-heads from being driven back beneath the cars.

It will thus be seen that bythe organization now shown thecoupling-hooks constitute the bufng devices, aswell as the couplingdevices, in connection with the buffing-ribs nc above described, whilethe draw-bars are given slight endwisemovement for the purpose of easingthe jars by means of the.`buff1ngsprings alrIhe coupling-hooks also, byreason of their curved front ends or faces, are caused to fit snuglyinto the curved re-V icc g cesses of the draw-heads, and thereby insurethe proper action upon the coupling-hook Shanks and upon thesafety-latches G to cause the coupling connection. As before stated, thedraw-bars A are capable of moving end- Wise in their central guides orfastenings be- 4 neath the car-bodies, while having no lateral orsidewise play.

Having thus described in y iniprovein ents, I claim herein- Thecombination, in a twin coupling, ofthe draw-bars, the curved end-pivotedhook-couplings thereof, the connections which secure said draw-barscentrally beneath the cars, so as to inove endwise but not laterally,the curyed buffer-seats in the front ends of said draw-bars,

